during the day as well as evening. A long community engagement process took place over several years exploring what the community wants here, Boepple says. As part of its planning, she adds, it was important to learn what Lower Manhattan doesn’t have but needs to be both an arts destination and vibrant local neighborhood. It is too soon to know what kind of community events will occur. We will have programming beyond the usual evening shows,” she states. In 2011, the Board for the Perelman Center was formed to move the cultural component forward. Businessman/philanthropist Ronald O. Perelman gave a lead gift of $75million, but the total fundraising goal is still not known, says Boepple. The most recent cost estimate is $243 million has not been finalized. There is no doubt that the whole 9/11 site has undergone many ups and downs in the last 15 years. The cultural component, as well, has gone through a series of incarnations. But the Perelman Center For the Performing Arts looks like it is on solid footing and will not only see the light of day but add an uplifting and artful dimension to an otherwise somber location. --- Roberta Brandes Gratz is an award- winning journalist who has written five books on urban development issues. Her latest was We’re Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City. *
veined marble – from the same Vermont quarry as the U.S. Supreme Court and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Interestingly, daylight will illuminate the interior and at night, interior lights will give the exterior a glow punctuated by the silhouettes of human movement. “Joshua just blew us away,” says Boepple about the competition. “The bold, elegant exterior and ingenious interior demonstrates a deep understanding of the very specific needs of this performing arts house. The solutions REX offered are brilliant.” The ground floor includes a restaurant that can be transformed into a cabaret or, Boepple proudly says, a ‘living room’ for Lower Manhattan community events
REX, ledby Joshua Prince-Ramus, was chosen after an invitational design competition was held following the cancelling of a concept- design by Frank Gehry. This is the first major new building REX will have designed in New York City. Prince-Ramus described the building as “a mystery box, a constant source of surprise for theatergoers and the community.” The building is wrapped in translucent, AUDITORIUM IN THRUST © LUXIGON 99-PERSON AUDITORIUM / THRUST CONFIGURATION / ‘CAVE’- AND HOLOGRAM- SUPPORTED THEATER PERFORMANCE TOP: PLAY LEVEL RENDER: 499-PERSON + SCENE DOCK IN END STAGE © LUXIGON. 499-PERSON AUDITORIUM COMBINEDWITH SCENE DOCK / END-STAGE CONFIGURATION / FILM SCREENING. ABOVE: PLAY LEVEL RENDER: 99-PERSON
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